


C H A S E

by hoverboarddinosaur



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Nagisa being Nagisa, Nagisa will probably sing at some point, No Smut, Rei and Nagisa are marine biologists, Rei will fangirl over dolphins, lots of my personal headcanons are involved, slow buildup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoverboarddinosaur/pseuds/hoverboarddinosaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All his life, Nagisa has chased Rei. He chased him into the swim club. He chased him into telling him secrets. He chased him into going to the same college. Every time he chased him, he caught him.</p><p>Then, one day, Nagisa gets a scientific grant for a research expedition he wants to do out at sea. Here's the thing: there's enough money for him to have a partner. So he chases Rei into being his partner- it's not too hard.</p><p>While the expedition goes wonderfully, Rei soon catches Nagisa's heart- and Nagisa's unsure if he'll ever catch his heart in return.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Pink cherry blossoms blew in the wind, doing cartwheels in the air as the breeze flew them all around. It was spring in Japan, and amongst the flying cherry blossoms played three seven-year-old boys. A pink petal landed in one of the boys' bright, blonde hair, but he didn't notice. He was too busy chasing his friends.

Nagisa giggled as he ran after them, arms outstretched. "Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" he called. "I'm going to catch you!"

"Don't call me 'Haru-chan,'" Haru said, then ran faster.

Nagisa sped up, too, and as a result, he quickly caught Haru's shirt. Haru stopped immediately upon being caught.

"For such a fast swimmer, you sure are slow, Haru-chan," Nagisa said. Haru scowled a bit at that remark. Nagisa ignored the action: he had another person to catch.

As he began to run yet again, the tallest of the boys cried, "You'll never catch me!"

"Yes, I will!" Nagisa shouted back, then used all the willpower in him to run even faster. That made Makoto shriek and giggle.

The ran around the field they were playing in in circles, and Haru watched solemnly. The more they ran, the more tired Makoto got. Nagisa's energy, however, was unwavering (as always), while Makoto was becoming exhausted.

Once Makoto was so tired and out-of-breath that he was barely even jogging, Nagisa grabbed him around the stomach. "I caught everyone! I win!" the blonde child said happily.

"Good job, Nagisa!" Makoto said with a genuine smile, though he was panting. "You always win at this."

Nagisa smiled proudly. "That's because whatever I c h a s e, I catch."


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa finds out whether his grant application got accepted or not, and learns of something he didn't know that the grant covered.

Nagisa thought that everything in the world was beautiful. That was one of many ways he was different from his best friend, Rei Ryuuguzaki: his aesthetic wasn't refined or partial. To Nagisa, everything was beautiful in some way or another.

Despite his broad idea of beauty, there was no doubt in Nagisa's mind that the Kimura Institute for Science was remarkably beautiful. The building was pure-white with obvious Greek influence in the pillars that held it up. Green, freshly-cut grass made up the lawn. On either side of the pathway that lead to the gorgeous institute, there was a fountain pouring water bluer than a blue jay.

The most beautiful thing to Nagisa, however, was the vibe he got from the place. He always felt excited whenever he walked into the institute, because he felt something would happen. Yes, that building was important. Nagisa was sure of it.

Believe it or not, as he marveled at the beauty, it was not Nagisa's first time walking into the Kimura Institute for Science. He'd gone in once before when he applied for his science grant 2 months ago, and now he was going to go in so he could see if he got accepted.

He walked past the fountains and pillars, right through the institute's door. Once inside the spacious building, he ran up to the desk.

"Name?" the desk clerk asked blandly.

"Nagisa Hazuki! I'm here for a 1:00 meeting with the board!" Nagisa said with a bright smile.

The desk clerk looked through some papers, then sighed. "Right upstairs in the conference room," he said.

"Thanks, Clerk-chan!" Nagisa said. The young man then ran up the golden stairs, and burst into the conference room.

Right in front of him sat a dozen spectacled old men and old ladies. They all wore similar vests and suits, and their expressions were all either bored or angry. I wonder if Rei-chan will look like this when he's old, Nagisa thought, cracking a smile.

"Mr. Hazuki," an old lady sitting at the head of the table said. She looked skeptical and sour, like a disapproving grandmother. "Please, sit down."

Nagisa did as he was told and sat down at the table with the rest of the board, and smiled expectantly. Everyone just stared at him, their eyes cutting through him like sharp and very judgmental knives.

Finally, the old lady at the head of the table spoke once again. She lifted up a piece of paper from the table, cleared her throat, and said, "You applied for our Exploration Grant for Young Scientists. The grant would fund your trip to research the social and evolutionary differences between deep-sea animals and those closer to the coast, specifically in coral reefs."

"That's correct, ma'am! I just love how social sea creatures are," Nagisa said.

"Well, after a very long discussion, we've decided to give the grant, due to the originality of your project. However, this grant does cover having a research partner, so we highly suggest recruiting a partner for safety reasons, and because, if you don't use up all the money, you have to pay back the whole grant. Understood?"

"Yes!" Nagisa said excitedly. He was going to explore the sea! He was going to see dolphins, sharks, turtles, fish, and all sorts of beautiful and cute animals, and he could do it all with a friend! He couldn't believe it. He ran up to the old lady and hugged her tightly, causing her to gasp in shock. "Thank you, Chairperson-chan!" he cried, then dashed out the door, full of energy from his excitement.

As he ran out of the institute, Nagisa began to get more and more excited about the idea of having a research partner. It needed to be someone smart who loved animals, and that he got along with. Who would he choose?

Well, he had quite a few ideas.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa chooses his research partner, only to realize that he has no idea where he is.

Nagisa hadn't initially considered having a partner for his expedition. He thought he'd just spend a few months out at sea, being crazy by himself while researching deep-sea animals and coastal animals. In other words, he figured he'd just play with the sea creatures by himself/

Now that he could have a partner, though, he realized that having a partner could make things a lot more interesting, and less lonely. There was just one thing he had to figure out................... who would be his partner?

Nagisa was stuck between Kisumi (or Kisu-chan, as he called him) and Rei. Kisumi, like Rei and Nagisa, had a master's degree in marine biology, and having Kisumi as his research partner would give him a chance to get to know the pink-haired boy better. However, he knew Haru might kill him if he chose Kisumi......

Rei, on the other hand, showed no problems as a partner. They would get along perfectly (or, almost perfectly), and Rei's superior intelligence could prove to be very helpful. Not to mention that Rei's easy-to-mess-with personality would make the trip extremely fun for Nagisa! The only problem was that Nagisa hadn't seen Rei since they graduated from their university 2 years ago, and he had no idea where the bluenette was now. 

Nagisa sat in his little home in Iwatobi for a long time, considering who his partner would be. He found himself being naturally inclined towards Rei for some reason, and Nagisa had always been one to go with intuition! He picked up his phone and started texting. 

Nagisa: Hey, Haru-chan, can we meet outside the old swim club after Mako-chan finishes his next class?

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Two hours later, Nagisa saw his friends come out of the old Iwatobi Swim Club. 

 

He ran up to them and hugged them both. "Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" he cried gleefully.

 

They hugged back. "Hey, Nagisa, how's it going?" Makoto asked.

 

"Great! How are things with you, Mr. Makoto Nanase?" 

 

Makoto blushed. "Everything's really good! Did you know that Haru has a big tournament coming up?"

"Really, Haru-chan? Can I come?"

Haru nodded silently.

"Anyway," Nagisa said, "how are you doing with the swim club?"

"Oh, I'm managing. Things haven't really been the same since Coach Sasabe died."

"Yeah, I'm still sad about that......"

"But you didn't come here to make small talk, right? What's going on?"

"Oh, right!"

Nagisa quickly explained all about his research idea, and getting the grant, and being able to have a partner, and choosing Rei. Haru seemed relieved when Nagisa said he rejected the idea of Kisumi, which confuse Makoto. The tall boy still didn't know about his husband's jealousy!

Nagisa then told them that he didn't know where Rei was, and he really, really hoped that they could help him locate the bluenette.

"Gee, Nagisa, I haven't talked to Rei in a while......" Makoto said, thinking hard.

"Tokyo," Haru said simply.

"Huh?" Makoto and Nagisa asked simultaneously.

"Tokyo. Rei told me he recently got a job at an aquarium in Tokyo," Haru explained.

"Then to Tokyo it is!" Nagisa exclaimed. 'Rei Ryuuguzaki, be prepared, because I am going to chase you down!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa's search for Rei doesn't go too well.

The trip to Tokyo was only a day long, but it took Nagisa several means of transportation in order for him to get there. He started off riding a taxi, then he took a train, then he rode a ferry, and he had a short walk the rest of the way. Of all the types of transportation, he liked the boat the best, because he loved the ocean and seeing all the creatures that lived within it.

But nothing- not even the magnificent creatures he saw- compared to the sight that was Tokyo.

Bright advertisements lit up buildings, making the city a beautiful rainbow of neon colors. It was loud, with cars honking and cheery music playing, slamming footsteps and the never-ending chatter. People of all shapes and sizes, wearing all sorts of clothes, walked past Nagisa. He stared in awe at the sights and drank in the sounds, and in that moment, he completely understood why Rei had moved to Tokyo. The city was his very picture of beauty.

However, Nagisa knew that he couldn't gawk at the beautiful city forever. He came to the city to find Rei and ask him about the expedition, and as much as Nagisa just wanted to run through the streets, listening to music and buying up all the shops, he knew he had to do what he had planned.

On the train ride, he'd come up with a list of all the various places he should ask about the bluenette. The list was:

 

-Tokyo College

-Tokyo University

-The largest aquarium in the city

-An insect store

-The city pool

 

So, with the list in his hand and his heart set on finding his best friend, Nagisa set out to find Rei Ryuuguzaki.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Tokyo University and Tokyo College had never heard of Rei. Someone at the aquarium seemed to remember him, which gave Nagisa hope, but the person couldn't give any specifics. Alot of people at the pool knew hun, but all they could tell him was that he always visited on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The owner of the insect store said he'd bought some butterflies..... six months ago. Nagisa's only hope had been Rei's old number, but he didn't have much luck with that either.

"Hello?" a voice had said when he called.

"Hi! May I speak to Rei-chan?"

"You must have the wrong number. There's no Rei-chan here."

"Oh. Thanks anyway."

Nagisa hung up and sighed. That had been his final hope, and now he had no hope of finding him.

"Whatever," Nagisa said glumly. "I'll just hire Kisu-chan."

Nagusa began to walk towards the ferry, head hung in disappointment. He'd really wanted to see his best friend again, and now, he wondered if the blue-haired boy would be gone from his life forever and ever.

His head was so low that he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Excuse mr," the person said in a cool tone.

Nagisa looked up at them- a tall man with blue hair and bright red glasses. Nagisa gasped and squealed in excitement and realization.

"Rei-Chan!" he cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter! The rest will be longer, I promise!


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After asking Rei to join him, Nagisa is confused as to why Rei won't agree. He pesters him for the answer, and soon takes desperate measures to get it out of him.

"Rei-chan! It's been so long!" Nagisa shouted, hugging Rei around his middle.

Rei jumped back a bit in surprise. "Nagisa! Wh....... why are you in Tokyo?"

"Looking for you, of course!"

Red blushed lightly. "Why? What do you need?"

"Once I explain, you'll be as excited as I am!"

Nagisa gave a very detailed explanation about his theories on deep-sea versus coastal marine animal behavior (his theory was that, since they were more complicatedly evolved, deep-sea animals had more complex social structures), and how he wanted to test that theory. He then explained about the grant and partnership from the Kimura Institute for Science. Rei seemed very interested and excited when Nagisa talked about the scientific aspects- he even interrupted to ask questions- but suddenly became forlorn once Nagisa mentioned the partnership.

"So," Nagisa said near the end of his explanation, "I want a partner. At first, I considered having Kisu-chan!"

"Haruka would've killed you."

"I know, so that's why I ultimately decided to choose you, Rei-chan!"

Rei sighed and looked away from Nagisa, a shameful and sad look on his face.

"So, what do you say?"

"Well......... no."

Nagisa gasped. "What? Whyyyyyyyy, Rei-chan?"

"Don't Rei-chan me, Nagisa! You know I can't say no when........"

"Not unless you explain, Rei-chan! So, what's the problem, Rei-chan?"

"I....... I have very i-important things to do here in Tokyo, the capital o-of science! Y-yes!"

"You stutter when you lie, you know. Tell me the real reason that you can't come!"

"No!"

"Aw, c'mon, Rei-chan! I thought we were best friends!"

"Nagisa Hazuki, I refuse!"

"Well, you better tell me, or......."

"Or what? Finish your sentences."

"Or I'll chase you through the streets, just like I did that one time before a swimming tournament."

Red looked shocked, and his glasses nearly fell off of his face due to his supreme scowl. "Don't you dare! We're grown men, Nagisa, we can't run through the streets like immature children!"

"You know I'll do it!"

The bluenette sighed, then stood up taller and held his head high. "Fine then. Do what you wish- I'm stubborn, too! I won't tell you!"

Red then screeched as Nagisa broke into a run.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

Rei had been right: two grown men running through the streets of Tokyo caused quite the spectacle. People cursed at them, scolded them for causing a commotion, and yelped as they ran past. Red and Nagisa didn't notice: they were too busy pursuing and being pursued.

"Rei-chan, tell me why you can't come! I want answers!" Nagisa called desperately as he chased.

To his surprise, Rei smirked. "First, you'll have to catch star!"

They ran through intersections, sidewalks, and conversations, a burning desire to either catch or get away from the other in their hearts. Rei got farther and father from Nagisa, which only intensified Nagisa's desperation to catch him.

Then, they hit a dead end.

Rei looked around frantically as he realized he had nowhere to go but a closed alley, searching for somewhere to run. He quickly spotted a quiet little coffee shop, which he dashed into as fast as he possibly could. Nagisa squealed and followed him, knowing that his chase was almost over.

He ran to the coffee shop, where Rei was yet again looking for somewhere to hide. Nagisa lunged forward and hugged him.

The blonde smiled as the bluenette groaned. "Caught you!"


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei reveals his reason for not wanting to go on the expedition.

A few minutes later they were sitting down together at one of the tables in the coffee shop. Rei had said that they could at leas be civilized and be patrons while Nagisa forced the uncomfortable truth out of him.

Rei ordered an expresso while Nagisa ordered a frappacino with whipped cream, three shots of chocolate and two pumps of caramel, cream, sugar, and hot fudge on the whipped cream. Rei was a little bit afraid he'd die from or kill someone on his sugar rush.

Once their drinks were given, Nagisa began to lick some of his whipped cream. Strange, Rei thought. He looks beautiful while doing something so absolutely disgusting. 

Reid's thoughts were interrupted by Nagisa saying, "Well, Rei-chan, spit it out! Why won't you go on this amazing expedition with me?"

The blue-haired boy sighed. He didn't want to tell Nagisa, they perfect boy he'd liked for so long, such an embarrassing and pitiful story behind his refusal. "Do....... do I really have to tell you, Nagisa?"

Nagisa nodded firmly and scowled. "Yes!"

Sighing and shaking his head, Rei said, "Fine, but you have to promise not to laugh."

The blonde smiled mischievously. "Why? Is it funny?"

"Nagisa! Promise!" 

"Alright, Rei-chan, calm down! I promise I won't laugh."  
"Fine," Rei said. "Well, you see, I have a job at an aquarium. I worked ridiculously hard to get it. You have no idea how hard it was to battle for that job, so I can't just give it up for the expedition."

"That's cool! What's your job?"

Rei blushed. "I'm............ I'm the janitor."

"What? You won't go on this ground-breaking journey with me because you're a janitor? This is as silly as when you were on the track team!"

"Hey, I was good at track! Also, you don't even understand how important this job is! It's... everything!"

"Then make me understand!"

The bluenette growled in frustration. "This job saved my life! I moved to Tokyo thinking that it would help make all my dreams come true, but it didn't! I was unemployed, and a lot of nights I couldn't even afford to feed myself. Getting this job gave me my first complete meals in five months! Besides, I decided that I could easily climb up the career ladder from janitor to resident vet. I refuse to give up my only income and chance of survival for your expedition, which may not even weird any extraordinary results!"

To Rei's anger and feeling of betrayal, Nagisa let out a loud laugh. "Nagisa, you said you wouldn't laugh!"

"Sorry, Rei-chan, but you're just being so silly! Our grant will give us a lot of money for food and care! Besides, I saw your face when I told you about my idea: you want answers as much as I do, don't you? Don't hold yourself back with this janitor job, Rei-chan. You can be glorious now."

"But what if the results aren't interesting, like I said? What if we don't have enough money to feed ourselves afterwards?'

"Then I can provide for us. I have an older sister who gives me odd jobs whenever money is needed. Please, Rei-chan?"

Nagisa looked up at Rei with a little smile on his face and pleading puppy-dog eyes. The same faced had once convinced Rei to join the swim club, pushing Rei into the beginning of a long, treacherous fall: falling in love with Nagisa Hazuki. With that past knowledge in mind, Rei knew that he wouldn't be able to resist him for very long.

"Fine," he said, blushing a bit because he was embarrassed about giving in.

Nagisa's eyes lit up as he hugged Rei from across the table (he nearly knocked down their drinks) and said, 'Thank you, Rei-chan! You won't regret this! I promise!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei and Nagisa set off on their exploration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is 'YOUTH' by Troye Sivan.

The docks of Tokyo were a beautiful, but very crowded, sight.

Seagulls squaked and sailors shouted at each other as fish were plopped onto the deck in gigantic nets. One could hear the ocean waves rising and falling in a syncopated rhythm, and the air was filled with he sharp smell of salt.

It was all sweet music to Nagisa's ears as he ran through the dock, dragging Rei behind him. They'd spent weeks preparing, buying food and supplies and making sure their boat was in shape, and not, it was finally time for them to depart. They'd spend a few weeks at sea, observing intelligent creatures, and then they'd travel to Australia and Hawaii to observe coastal creatures.

After a few minutes of dashing through the dock, Nagisa finally stopped and said, "There she si!"

The blonde was pointing at a big, white ship. Barrels and other such containers were spread across the deck, and on the side of the ship, two words were written in a bright bronze: The Beluga.

"The Beluga," Rei whispered. "She's beautiful."

Nagisa beamed. 'Yep, and she's fully stocked, thanks to me!"

"'Thanks to you?' I paid for all of our supplies!"

"Yea, but I hauled them into the boat 'cause I have stronger arms."

"Hey, there's no shame in being stronger in the bottom half!"

"Sure, Rei-chan."

"Enough chit-chat! Let's get on board and check our supplies."

 

. . . . . . . . . 

 

"As for the water filters..... check! We're ready to go!" Rei exclaimed.

Nagisa squealed in delight- it had taken long enough! Not that he didn't appreciate Rei's thoroughness and devotion to perfecting- that was one of the things he liked most about him- but he really just wanted to go on an adventure.

"Can I reel in the anchor?" Nagisa asked. Rei nodded.

With a lot of heaving and grunting, Nagisa managed to pull the metal anchor up onto the boat, and before long, the two marine biologists were floating in the sea. They waved at the shrinking people on the dock as they sailed away, despite neither of them knowing anyone there. Then Nagisa turned to Rei.

"I can't wait to see all the flying dolphins!" he cried.

"And just imagine all the beautiful creatures we'll see in the coral reefs! They'll be gorgeous!" 

Nagisa's grin widened. He was glad that the blue-haired boy was having as good of a time as he.

"Hey, we should sing a sailing song! And adventure song!" Nagisa said.

Rei looked dubious. "And what song would that be?"

"Um.... YOUTH, since there's two of us and we're on an adventure!"

"I've never heard that song."

"You really need to get out more, Rei-chan! It goes like this:

What if, what if we run away?

What if, what if we left today?

What if we said goodbye to safe and sound?"

 

"That sounds dangerous," Rei said. Nagisa laughed.

 

"What if, what if we start to drive? 

What if, what if we lost our minds?

What if we left them far behind and they're never found?

 

And when the lights start flashing like a photo booth,

and the star's exploding,

we'll be fire-proof!"

 

As Nagisa sang the next part, he danced in rhythm with the song and the waves, hand-in-hand with Rei.

 

"My youth, my youth is yours,

tripping on skies, sipping waterfalls.

My youth, my youth is yours,

run away now and forevermore!

 

My youth, my youth is yours,

a truth so loud you can't ignore!

My youth... my youth.... my youth...

My youth is yours!"


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei wakes up to two of the best creatures imaginable- dolphins, and Nagisa.

"Rei-chan! Rei-chan, wake up! DOLPHINS!"

Rei bolted up with a smile on his face- the proud, excited sort of smile he got while learning or exercising his knowledge. Nagisa loved it.

"Did you say dolphins?" he said.

Nagisa nodded eagerly. "They're breaching beside the boat, and I'm pretty sure one of them was a heal-and-release, so that should be really cool!"

Rei threw his covers off and ran out of his cabin in his pajamas. Nagisa ran behind him, and they both squealed when they saw the dolphins. The silver creatures leaped out of the water regularly, splashing water on the deck (and Rei and Nagisa) as they did so. They chirped in a joyous conversation that Nagisa tried to join with ridiculous clicks and chirps. While they did 'talk' back, Rei was pretty sure they were laughing at him. It was cute, in a strange sort of way.

When Nagisa finished 'conversing' with their animal friends, Rei turned to him and whispered, "They're so........ well, beautiful." His eyes were wide and practically sparkling, staring at the sleak creatures as they twirled above the water.

"And so talkative!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Quick, Rei-chan, get out your notepad and write a note about that, please!"

Rei whipped out a notepad and a pencil, then scribbled a few notes on it. When he looked up, he said, which one is the heal-and-release?"

Nagisa pointed at a dolphin a few yards away from the rest. He looked fairly healthy, aside from a rather large scar on his back.

"He stays a bit away from the group. Interesting," Rei said, then wrote something down.

"Probably because they haven't quite accepted him yet. Poor thing!" Nagisa said.

Rei wrote that down, too.

They observed the dolphins as they conversed in dolphin-speak and jumped in and out of the water. At some point, Nagisa managed to tear his eyes away from the dolphins to say, "I could watch these guys all day!"

"Nagisa, my companion, that is exactly what we are going to do."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

They watched the dolphins from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., when the creatures swam off and Rei and Nagisa lost track of them completely.

Now, they were sitting on the deck, looking at the sunset as it illuminated the blue waves and turned them purple.

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight," Rei recited quietly.

"Isn't that something Miho liked to say? You know, one of her famous 'As thus-and-so-guy-with-long-name once said,...' sort of things?"

Rei laughed at Nagisa's horrible impression of Miho's voice, but said, "Yes. You know, though, now that I'm more educated, I actually have more respect for Miho. She is intelligent."

"Yeah. Though, she hasn't been the same since Goro-san died."

"Hmm."

They were both peacefully and sadly quiet for a moment or two, thinking about both the swim club and their old coach's death. Then Nagisa took a deep breath and said, "Hey, remember that time when you went swimming in the ocean at night and nearly got everyone in the swim club killed?"

"H-hey! Why'd you have to bring that up?!?"

"Because, we're out on the ocean again now, and you're not getting anyone killed this time, Rei-chan!"

Rei sighed. "You know, I liked things a lot better when the dolphins were here. It was prettier, it was educational, and you weren't blabbering on about something I did nine years ago, for your approval, by the way!"

Nagisa blushed at Rei's final remark, but said, "Maybe the dolphins will return tomorrow, Rei-chan, and then I'll be quiet, but for now, I'm going to tease the hell out of you."


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa and Rei's game of tag has a result that makes Nagisa worried.

Rei and Nagisa had been on the boat for 2 weeks, observing dolphins, sharks and fish. They occasionally anchored the ship as they scuba-dived, meeting whales and turtles and other such things. Those 2 weeks passed quickly, and before long, they were only a day away from Australia.

It was late at night, and Rei and Nagisa had spent most of the day scuba-diving, where they met a group of migrating turtles. They had gotten lots of interesting notes on their social behavior. In that moment, though, their notes were far from their mind- they were both lying on the deck, their minds consumed by the sight of the bright stars.

"This is beautiful," Rei whispered.

"Yeah," Nagisa said. He stared at the stars for another moment before saying, "But it's also boring. Let's do something fun."

"Staring at beautiful things can be very fun."

"Maybe for nerds like you, Rei-chan, but not everyone!"

"Hmph! Fine. What would you rather do?"

"Let's play tag!"

"I have an unfair advantage as a former track runner."

"Not true! I always won while playing tag with Mako-chan and Haru-chan!"

"They were not track runners."

Nagisa took that as a challenge, so he stood up, chest puffed in pride and a defiant smile on his face. "Rei-chan, I hereby challenge you to a game of tag, and I'm it!"

Rei stood up, too, and he was doing his proud smile again. 'Fine, but I'm going to raise the stakes! There's a two-minute time limit, and whoever loses has to do all the packing-up tomorrow!"

"Deal!"

Rei pulled out his phone and set a two minute timer. Then, almost instantly, Nagisa began chasing Rei all around the boat. They both laughed as they ran, the stars brightening their path. It was a very beautiful sight to see, but neither of them, not even Rei, noticed. They were too busy focusing on evading of capturing the other.

Both ran very quickly- a result of years of athleticism. Nagisa was never more than a meter behind Rei, but Rei made sure to keep a distance between the two of them Nagisa was also devious, trying to track Rei into running towards him by chasing him towards walls, but the bluenette saw right through him. Nagisa soon realized that the only way to catch him was to outrun him.

However, they were only a minute into the chase when Nagisa started to get tired. He desperately reached out for Rei, trying to catch him, but her was always a bit too far away. He would ask him to go easy on him, but Rei would only do a triumphant 'ha' and run even faster than before.

When there were only 30 seconds left, Nagisa still had hope. He ran as fast as he possibly could, telling himself that he'd be so happy if he could just catch Rei, and his sudden burst of speed gave Rei a bit of a scare. However, the clock was ticking for the both of them....

5....

4....

3.....

2.....

1....

0.

As the timer Rei had set beeped, both of them topped running. Nagisa was too out of breath to worry about Rei's gloating.

Luckily, Rei did nothing of the sort. He shook Nagisa's smaller hand and said, "You ran well."

"So did you, Rei-chan!" Nagisa said with a tired smile, though it was fake.

"However.... you do have to pack everything tomorrow."

"Nuh-uh. We never shook on it."

"WHAT???"

Nagisa only half-heartedly bickered with Rei- he was preoccupied. The thing was, his inability to catch Rei was representative of anything thing he'd been worried about. He'd been chasing Rei since the day they met, whether the goal was to chase him into the swim club or chase him into a scientific expedition. While he always caught him, catching the bluenette got harder and harder every time, and a new chase would always appear. Nagisa was worried that, one day, he'd chase Rei and not be able to catch him, just like what had just happened.

What was even scarier was that there'd been something special about Rei when he ran. He looked proud and happy, and all the ways he'd come up with to evade Nagisa were so clever. Even the way he moved was beautiful and extremely exciting.

Nagisa absolutely adored fun things, and while he adored Rei, he'd always been under the impression that Rei himself wasn't very fun. Now he realized tat Rei was very fun, but just in a different way than other things.

Rei wasn't fun in a lazy, blissful way, like a TV show or good food. He was fun like a challenging soccer game, or fun like a mystery novel where the fun is all in finding out who committed the crime. That sort of fun was clever, and that cleverness was used to steal Nagisa's heart.

He was afraid he would never catch Rei's heart in return.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I use one of the most overused tropes ever, not even as a plot device, but just for fluff.

"LAND HO!"

Nagisa's cry was as piercing as those of the seagulls swarming Australia's shore. The beach was only a kilometer away, and just within sight of the two scientists. Nagisa was looking at the dock through a telescope.

"Did you pack up all our stuff last night?" Rei asked.

"Yep!"

"I'll take them to the exit of the boat."

By the time Rei was done hauling all their suitcases, scientific equipment, and stray belongings to the exit of The Beluga, they had reached the dock. Nagisa anchored the ship, then began to take the stuff off the boat.

It took at least an hour for them to drag all their things to the hotel where they would be staying, called 'The Outback Hotel.' It was a fairly nice place, with the outside walls painted with pictures of kangaroos, koalas, and other things themed towards the Australian countryside.

They walked into the hotel, and Nagisa walked up to the front desk.

"Uh..... res-e-vations for Hazuki and Ryuguzaki!" Nagisa said with a thick Japanese accent, smiling apologetically. Rei grinned and chuckled a bit- it was almost cute to him.

"Of course! Here's your key!" the Australian clerk said, handing Nagisa a key.

Nagisa smiled, bowed, and said, "Arigato!" Then he blushed and said, "I mean, uh, thank you!"

He then walked over to Rei and said, "Rin-chan recommended this hotel to me! Isn't it nice?"

Rei nodded. "I love the pictures. Marsupials-in fact, all Australian animals are so interesting, don't you agree?"

"I do."

"Anyway, can I have the key to my room?"

"Oh, hehe, about that..... well, to save money, Rei-chan, we're going to be in the same room."

"What? Nagisa, that's stupid!" 

Nagisa did a cute little smile and shrugged, which made Rei simultaneously want to cuddle him and kill him. Either way, it was hard to hold back from lunging at him, so he just shouted, "Nagisa!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Ugh! It better have two beds!"

"It does, I'm pretty sure."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Nagisa's 'pretty sure' was wrong.

Rei would hardly speak to Nagisa as they got ready for bed. Nagisa didn't really mind: if anything, he liked it. It left him alone with his thought, and as beautiful as Rei was when he was happy, he was just as adorable when he was flustered or angry.

Once they had both brushed their teeth and put on pajamas, they squeezed into the same queen-sized bed. Nagisa cuddled up close to Rei, and though the bluenette let out a small 'tch,' he didn't actually protest.

"Do you squirm?" Rei whispered.

"I don't know," Nagisa replied, also in a whisper.

"You better not. I need rest so I'll have energy to explore the reef tomorrow."

"You never have energy, Rei-chan."

"No, I just use my energy for computations and mental exercises, unlike you, who uses energy to swim with dolphins and shout very loud."

Nagisa giggled quietly. "You're hissing like a cat."

Rei groaned and the conversation ended there, and before long, Rei fell asleep. Nagisa, however, stayed up and gazed around the room, as well as at the sleeping boy. He so desperately wanted to feel his wavy blue hair in his fingers, to be held in his sturdy arms, and to kiss his soft lips. They were so close that he could've kissed him, and his body was pushing him to, but Nagisa knew he could never do that without consent.

Still, it was getting harder, having Rei around constantly, but never being able to touch him or love him or tell him how he felt. He could hardly hold himself back anymore. Nagisa needed to make Rei his, because he'd never been very good at self-control......

.....perhaps he'd start tomorrow.


End file.
